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Guidebook for Developing and Managing Airport Contracts

Airport operators are responsible for developing and managing a wide variety of aeronautical and non-aeronautical agreements. These include, but are not limited to, agreements for airport use (airline and non-airline); design and construction; commercial development; commercial operations; management; intergovernmental relations; real estate; maintenance and operations of buildings and grounds; utilities; administrative services; military use; airport "through-the-fence" operations; common-use facilities; ground transportation; concessions for a variety of passenger services (rental car, parking, retail/food/beverage); and many others. In addition, with the constant changing environment in the airline industry, airports are becoming more responsible for services and programs that were traditionally the responsibility of the airlines. While large airports typically have full-time professional property- or business-management offices to oversee the development, solicitation, award, administration, and overall management of these contracts, many medium and small air carrier airports as well as many general aviation airports do not. At these airports, the staff responsible for contracts may have other responsibilities in addition to administering these airport agreements and are often not aware of evolving trends or best practices for airports. At present there is no single resource available that presents the airport industry's best practices in preparing and administering agreements. It is difficult to obtain templates for specific kinds of agreements and time consuming to learn proven techniques for administering airport agreements. However, within the airport industry, several airports have developed and implemented creative programs. Other airports can benefit from their experience and example. In addition, the operators of overseas airports have developed and implemented contract procedures that are not widely known in the United States. To obtain copies of agreements that represent "best practices," airport operators must now contact their peers individually, as there is no clearinghouse or easily accessible source for these documents. The objective of this project is to develop an intuitive, easy-to-use guidebook of best practices for developing, soliciting, and managing airport agreements for use by airports of all sizes. The guidebook shall include an interactive CD-ROM that contains templates with options and alternatives for each type of agreement. These shall include, but not be limited to, agreements for airport use (airline and non-airline); design and construction; commercial development; commercial operations; management; intergovernmental relations; real estate; maintenance and operations of buildings and grounds; utilities; administrative services; military use; airport "through-the-fence" operations; common-use facilities; ground transportation; concessions for a variety of passenger services (rental car, parking, retail/food/beverage); and others as appropriate. For the purpose of this project, the term "agreement" includes contracts, leases, purchase orders and similar documents.